Cabinet construction



y 1956 L. J. AMORE 2,746,828

CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed July 28, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F'lqzl.

INVENTOR. L [0 I fl/UURE y 956 L. J. AMORE' 2,746,828

CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed July 28, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F7 7, IINVENTOR.

Unite States Patent CABINET CONSTRUCTION Leo J. Amore, Philadelphia,Pa., assignor to Phllco Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvanla Application July 28, 1952, Serial No. 301,338 6 Claims.(Cl. 312-214) The invention hereinafter described and claimed has to dowith cabinet construction and more particularly with door mounted shelfarrangements. While of broader applicability, the invention is speciallyadapted for use with refrigerator doors and accordingly the followingdescription has reference to such an embodiment.

In recent years it has become quite common to provide cabinet doors withauxiliary shelves onwhich articles may be stored in a readily accessibleposition, and it is the primary object of this invention to provide anew shelf structure of this type characterized by a novel mode ofmounting the structure upon the inner panel of the door.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a door shelfconstruction characterized by flexibility enabling it, even when fullyloaded, to withstand and absorb the shock of repeated door slammingwithout damage thereto.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a shelf structurewhich may be easily mounted upon orremoved from the door without the useof special tools, and without requiring disassembly of the door.

A further object is to provide a door shelf structure of economicalconstruction and pleasing appearance.

In keeping with these general objects, the invention contemplates a doorconstruction including inner and outer panels and having a plurality ofarticle supporting shelves mounted upon the inner panel thereof.Marginal trim members cooperating with portions of the inner panel formpockets adapted to receive the ends of shelves and thus support themupon the door. The ends of the shelves are received within the pocketsin a manner permitting limited relative movement therebetween so thatthe shelves are free to flex when subjected to shock, by reason of thedoor being slammed or because of heavy objects being dropped upon theshelf th'us absorbing the shock and preventing damage to the shelf.Fastening means is provided to prevent accidental displacement of theshelf ends from the pockets.

In the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet including adoor embodying features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of the doorshowing a shelf mounted thereon;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the door, with portionsbroken away, and showing a shelf mounted on the inner door panel;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, but showing the first step inthe procedure of mounting a shelf upon the door;

Figure 5 is a sectional view'of a fragmentary portion of the inner doorpanel showing one means of fastening the trim strip thereto;

Figure 6 is a sectional view, taken generally along the line 6-6 ofFigure 3; and

Patented May 22, 1956 Figure 7 is a fragmentary view of a modifiedconstruction.

With detailed reference to the drawings and more particularly to Figure1 thereof, the numeral 10 designates a refrigerator cabinet having anopen front food storage space 11, normally closed by a door 12. Theaging of cabinet construction form no part of this invention and,therefore, the following description is confined to the doorconstruction. 1

With reference to both Figures 1' and 2 it is seen that the doorcomprises an outer shell 13, and an inner panel 14, secured togetherabout their peripheries, preferably by means of a plurality of screws(not shown) disposed circumferentially about the door and beneath theusual door gasket 15. The space between the outer shell and inner panelis filled with insulation 16, which may be of any desired type. I

Inner door panel 14 preferably is formed of heat insulating materialwhich, by way of example, may be a plastic composition of the syntheticresin type. As seen more clearly in Figures 2, 3, and 4, panel 14preferably, but not necessarily, is formed with a pair of recesses 17and 18, the first of which is in the central portion of the panel andthe second around the marginal area thereof.

, Between these recesses is a marginal ridge 19 projecting outwardlyfrom the door structure, and extending substantially around the panel,being broken only in the area of the butter conditioner 20 shown inFigure 1. It should be understood that, for the purposes of thisinvention, ridge 19 need only be provided along each vertical side ofthe recess 17. The reason for this is more clearly disclosed as thisdescription progresses.

Ridge 19 carries a trim frame 21 (Figure l) secured thereto by anysuitable means, such as speed fasteners 21a which may be of anyacceptable type, such for example as that shown in Figure 5. Trim frame21 may be formed in one piece, although in the embodiment illustrated itcomprises straight side members 22, straight top and bottom members 23,and arcuate corner sections 25 connecting the ends of the straightsections. It should also be understood that, for the purposes of this invention, the straight side members 22 alone are sufficient.

Beneath the trim members 22, as seen in Figure 2, ridge 19, on each sideof the door, is provided with a plurality of vertically spaceddepressions 26. These depressions, in cooperation with the side trimmembers, form inwardly opening pockets 27 (see Figures 3 and 4) adaptedto receive opposite ends 28 of shelves 29.

The shelves are preferably of one piece moulded synthetic plasticconstruction and include a base or floor 30, and a vertical front rail31 terminating in the outwardly projecting ends 28 which are. receivedand supported in pockets 27. The vertical rail 31, as shown more clearlyby shelves 29 at the top of the door in Figure 1, may be substantiallycoplanar with end portions 28, or the central portion 32 of said railmay project outwardly from the door structure, as is the case withshelves shown on the lower half of the door in Figure 1 and, moreclearly, in Figures 2, 3, and 4. It is desirable that the shape of therear edge 33 of floor 30 of the shelf conform generally with the contourof the central recess 17 of the door panel, as appears in Figures 3 and4.

-Depending from rear edge 33 of the-shelf floor is a pair of tabs 34spaced from each other and provided with apertures 35 through whichfastening means 36, as seen in Figure 6, may be passed to engage therear panel and thus secure the shelf thereto.

In assembling the door, trim frame 21 is first secured to inner panel14, after which the inner and outer panels are secured together, all asdescribed above. The manner in which the shelves are assembled to theinner panel is clearly shown in Figure 4, wherein it may be seen resses3 that the right hand end 28 of the shelf is inserted in pocket 27 toits full extent, which permits the left hand end of the shelf to bebrought into registry with the pocket on that side. The shelf then ismoved bodily to the left to engage the left end of the shelf in itspocket, after which movement the shelf is again shifted a distance justsufficient to ensure proper engagement of both shelf end portions28 withthe associated pockets. Apertures in tabsi'34 (Figure 6) are then inregistry with apertures 37 provided in panel 14, so that the fasteningmeans 36 may secure the shelf to the liner. The fastening meanspreferably is of the typea, screw, for example-which may be inserted andwithdrawn with the door completely assembled. By removing thefasteningmeans and reversing the assembly procedure described abovethe shelvesmay easily be removed from the door. it will of course be appreciatedthat the shelves may be assembled to the door with equal ease by firstinserting the left hand end of each shelf in its associated pocket andthen shifting the shelf bodily to the right.

it should be understood, of course, that the inner panel may beconstructed with the trim strip as an integral part thereof, and withthe pockets formed directly in the panel structure.

in Figure -7 there is shown a modified pocket construction wherein theside trim members 22 are provided with spaced notches 38 along theirinner edge portions, and within which notches ends 28 of the shelves maybe received, in a manner similar to that described above in connectionwith pockets 27. With this construction it is possible to obtain certainof the advantages of the invention by the use of a flat inner panel,that is, one without the recesses and ridges.

Because of the excellent appearance and low cost of molded plasticmaterials, such for example as polystyrene, it'is preferred to constructshelves from such material. However, the brittleness of materials ofthis kind is well known and, because of this characteristic,

shelves molded therefrom, if they be rigidly mounted, cannot withstandthe shocks which arise from repeated slamming of the door or from otherabuse to which they are subjected when in use.

Perhaps the most important advantage achieved by the above-describedconstruction flows from the flexibility which characterizes the novelshelf mounting of the present invention. Extensive field practice hasdemonstrated that a shelf of the above-described type will withstandrepeated slamming of the cabinet door, even if loaded with heavymerchandise. When conditions of high impact are encountered the shelf isdistorted, or flexed, and the ends thereof are partially withdrawn fromthe pockets within which they are mounted, with the result that theheavy impacts and shocks referred to are absorbed without damage.

I claim:

1. A door construction comprising a panel, a pair of spaced outwardlyprojecting and vertically extending ridges on one face of said panel, atrim member secured to each of said ridges, said ridges and trim membersbeing constructed so as to form at least a pair of pockets havingapertures providing access thereto, the aperture of the pocket of one ofsaid pair being disposed in confronting relation to the aperture of theother pocket of said pair, a shelf positioned on said door, and means onsaid shelf extending through said apertures within the pockets andsupported by the latter in a manner permitting limited movement of saidmeans within each pocket of said pair.

2. A door construction in accordance with claim 1, and characterized inthat said ridges are provided with depressions which cooperate with saidtrim members to form said pockets.

3. A door construction in accordance with claim 1,

and characterized in that said trim members are provided with notcheswhich cooperate with said ridges to form said pockets. 4

4. A door structure comprising a panel, said panel having a centrallypositioned recess bounded by outwardly projecting vertically extendingsurfaces along opposite vertical sides of the recess, each of saidsurfaces having a plurality of spaced depressions along its verticalextension, a trim strip secured to each of said surfaces and cooperatingwith said depressions to form confronting pockets, a plurality ofshelves, each of said shelves including a base portion and a verticalwall, and means defining end extensions on each shelf engaging a pair ofconfronting pockets and supporting said shelves on said panel withinsaid central recess, the end-to-end dimension of each shelf beingsubstantially equal to the dimension between the outer edges of saidtrim members minus the width of one of the latter, whereby said shelvesmay be assembled on the door by first inserting one end extension intoone pocket, bringing the opposite end into registry with the oppositepocket, and bodily shifting said shelf to engage the latter end withinsaid opposite pocket.

5. A door structure comprising a panel, said panel having a centrallypositioned recess bounded by outwardly projecting longitudinallyextending surfaces disposed along opposite sides of the recess, each ofsaid surfaces having a plurality of spaced depressions along itsextension, means cooperating with said depressions to form confrontingpockets having access openings, a plurality of shelves, each of saidshelves including a base portion and a vertical wall, and means defininga pair of end extensions of the vertical wall of each shelf, said endextensions engaging a pair of confronting pockets and supporting saidshelves on said panel within said central recess, the distance betweensaid access openings being at least equal to the width of the shelf plus.the width of an end extension whereby said shelves may be assembled onthe door by first inserting one end extension through the access openingof one of said pockets, bringing the opposite end extension intoregistry with the access opening of the opposite pocket, and bodilyshifting said shelf to engage the latter end within said oppositepocket.

6. A door construction comprising an inner panel, a pair of outwardlyprojecting and longitudinally extending ridges formed integrally withsaid panel on one face thereof, a trim member secured to each of saidridges, said ridges and said trim members being so constructed as toform pockets having access openings formed therein, an opening formed inone of said pockets being in confronting relation with an opening formedin an opposite pocket, a plurality of shelves, each of said shelvesincluding a base portion and a vertical wall, and means defining endextensions on the vertical wall of each shelf, said extensions beingintegral with said vertical wall and being of a size to be receivedsnugly within the access openings formed in said pockets, said endextensions on each shelf extending through the confronting accessopenings to support said shelves on said panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS848,623 Beeler Apr. 2, 1907 1,203,380 Martin Oct. 31, 1916 1,594,385Strauss Aug. 3, 1926 I 2,074,438 Swedman Mar. 23, 1937 2,112,498 LaxMar. 29 1938 2,144,782 Swanson Jan. 24, 1939 2,528,807 Whitney Nov. 7,1950 2,549,879 Amore Apr. 24, 1951 2,562,056 Norberg July 24, 19512,571,071 Smith Oct. 9, 1951

